Mindfulness – an experiment

Everybody keeps referencing mindfulness. It comes up when people are looking for ways to tackle stress. It gets a mention in personal development approaches.

It’s some time since Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote about the power of mindfulness in his book “Full Catastrophe Living”. His work was based on solid evidence gathered over a number of years working alongside clinicians.

The concept feels like an idea that has found its time.

A few weeks ago I went to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the weekend when he came to Manchester to give teachings. It was a remarkable weekend – lots to absorb and think about. The energy all weekend was beautiful. During the weekend I had a short lesson in meditation from Venerable Mary, a Tibetan Buddhist nun who was staying with us. Since then, I have been meditating each morning for just 10 minutes. The most empowering advice she gave was that the commitment should be short to begin with. Most people over stretch themselves. Getting up 15 minutes earlier each day and settling into a meditation has been so much easier than I thought it would be. That 10 meditation time sets me up beautifully for the day – it gives me time to observe what is going on within, to shut down the chatter in my head and just be.

This daily practise has been enhanced in the last couple of weeks with further advice and support from Lama Lhakpa Yeshe who has been teaching me Green Tara practise.

As the days and weeks go by, the practise grounds me. I mentioned mindfulness to begin with because that is what I am experiencing in these morning meditations. They can be practised with or without Buddhist principles. The important thing is to find the space to be alone with ourselves before the day begins.